Last week, a severe storm hit Western NSW, knocking out power to an estimated 10,600 customers. The impact of the storm was devastating, with seven transmission towers near Broken Hill destroyed. The area affected includes Broken Hill, Tibooburra, Wilcannia, Menindee, White Cliffs, Silverton, and surrounding communities.

The NSW Government immediately activated an emergency response and coordinated assistance under the NSW State Energy and Utility Services Functional Area Supporting Plan (EUSPLAN), across several emergency services and government agencies as well as electricity network companies. Since then, multiple agencies have been working together to assist people in NSW’s Far West.

The Energy and Utility Services Functional Area (EUSFA) team has been working with Essential Energy and Transgrid, with power now restored to all customers in the Far West. An Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) has been established for the area to coordinate resources to ensure ongoing services are provided to the local communities, including bringing generators into the area to provide power to the region until the temporary transmission towers can be constructed and the main transmission line is re-energised.

The EOC comprises governmental and non-governmental agencies, including the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, NSW Police Force, NSW Health, Fire and Rescue NSW, NSW Ambulance, the State Emergency Service (SES), Rural Fire Service (RFS), Transport NSW, and Essential Energy.

While the emergency power supply arrangements are currently working extremely well, there are two areas local people need to be aware of as agencies work to restore the transmission lines. Peak power usage is between 5:30 pm and 10:30 pm (Australian Central Daylight Time), and people need to conserve power during those hours as much as possible. At some times, load shedding will result in intermittent power supply outages due to the need to reduce the load on generators, as power needs to be shared across the locations. This may occur at peak times, and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water has tips online.

People in the impacted communities also need to be aware and prepare for the fact that generators will be switched off for several hours roughly every three days for essential maintenance. It is essential that people have their mobile phones fully charged BEFORE the power goes off. We would also recommend people have battery-powered torches, drinking water stored, and a battery-powered radio, and that these, too, are charged before the scheduled outage.

This event highlights the importance of having parametric insurance in place for power outages. Parametric insurance is a type of insurance that pays out when a specific event occurs, such as a power outage. It is based on objective data, such as wind speed or rainfall, rather than subjective assessments of damage.

With Riskwolf, you can turn real-time data into insurance. Using unique real-time data and dynamic risk modelling, we enable insurers to build and operate parametric insurance at scale. Simple. Reliable. Fast.

In conclusion, the recent power outage in Western NSW serves as a reminder of the importance of having parametric insurance in place for natural disasters. By having this type of insurance, businesses and individuals can protect themselves financially and get back on their feet more quickly. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Get in touch with Riskwolf today to develop parametric insurance for your business.

Source: Western NSW Power Outage: Coordinated Response Ongoing